A place to share some reflections on faith, journeys and life in general...

Saturday, October 26, 2013

THE MIDDLE EAST - a short talk at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church

THE MIDDLE EAST

A Brief Guide

This is the region known as the ‘Cradle of
Civilisation’. Great empires came and
went: Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and – lastly –
Ottoman. And a region where one cannot
ignore the effect of the Crusaders who wrested parts of the Near East on the
edges of the Mediterranean from Islamic rule and established kingdoms which lasted
from 1099 to 1291.

Here is where we find what is known as the ‘Fertile
Crescent’, arching from Arabia to Israel: that geographic span which enabled
civilisations to develop and provided routes for traders and armies. And here, of course, developed Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. Christianity
flourished in the region for 600 years during the dominance of the Roman and
Byzantine empires.

IRAQ was evangelised by Ss. Thomas and Thaddeus (Addai)

EGYPT by S. Mark

TURKEY by S. Paul

Christianity was not as we know it today. It was in a developmental process when
arguments raged over the principle question – just who was Jesus? A man chosen by God? God in the appearance of man? God and man?
And, if so, how? Various tribal
and political groups adopted one or another theory and it wasn’t until 381 at
the Second Ecumenical Council of Nicaea that the disparate churches adopted an
agreed statement of Faith – the Nicene Creed.
Even then some did not, notably the followers of Nestorius, the
Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul) from 428 to 431. They rejected the title of Mary as Theotokos – God-bearer because they
believed that Jesus was not God AND man but God IN man.

Nestorian Christianity flourished throughout the East
eventually reaching as far as China and it’s fairly evident that the
development and acceptance of Islam was, in part, made possible because it
inherited this view. Islam does not
accept that Jesus is God-made-flesh, nor that he died and was resurrected and
it is argued many Christians in that region, faced with the growing Muslim
influence, accepted Islam as it seemed close to their understanding of
Christianity.

Mohammed was born c. 570 in what is now Saudi Arabia. The experience he had which led to the
writing of the Koran took place c.610 and, subsequently, he began to attract
followers to his new ideology and gathered an army together which, eventually,
forced most of Arabia to accept Islam. After
his death in 632 the community was ruled by powerful caliphs (rulers) whose
armies quickly took control of much of the Middle East.

A Muslim army, for example, invaded Egypt in 639 and the
country fell under their control a year later.
This was a time when the Byzantine Empire was becoming weaker through a
series of invasions and Christians who did not convert were forced to pay a
special ‘protection’ tax (the ‘Jizya’) which gave proof of their acceptance and
subjection to the Islamic state. It is
required by the Koran (9:29) and is still enforced in certain places. In fact, the tax is being demanded increasingly.

4) have faith in God, all His angels, all His holy books,
all His prophets, day of Judgment, and destiny.

5) fully obey God and his messenger Mohamed by obeying what
they order him/her to do and what they order not to do.

6) do good deeds for the benefit of his community, nature,
and mankind.

7) observe the rules of the Quran and Islam morals.

But Islam did not remain a united force for long. After Mohammed’s death the question of his
successor arose. Some soon rejected the view that he had appointed a successor
and held that the position of caliph could be attained democratically. They held that Mohammed had appointed Abu
Bakr, a friend of the Prophet and father of his wife Aisha. These became known
as Sunni’s and form the largest
denomination: in the Middle East they are a majority in Libya, Egypt, Jordan,
Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey.

Those who believe Mohammed appointed his son-in-law, Ali, to
be his heir and supporters became known as Shi’ite,
or Shia, and believe their ayatollah’s
(leaders) as God’s representative on earth.

Today, as a rough guide, Sunni’s account for 80% of the
Islamic population and Shi-ite for 20%.
In terms of countries, these are divided in the following ways:

LIBYA: Sunni 97%

Shia 2%

EGYPT Sunni 90%

Shia 10%

(Christian: 12 – 18%)

SAUDI ARABIA Sunni 95%

Shia 5%

JORDAN Sunni 92%

Shia 2%

IRAQ Sunni 40%

Shia 40%

(Christian: 5%)

IRAN Sunni 10%

Shia 90%

(Christian: 0.2%)

SYRIA Sunni 74%

Shia 13%

(Christian: app. 10%)

LEBANON Sunni 50%

Shia 50%

(Christian: 39%)

TURKEY Sunni 70%

Shia 25%

(Christian: 0.10%)

(Population figures taken from a variety of sources)

From this it can be seen that only Iran has a majority Shia
population. Egypt has a predominantly
Sunni population and the Shi’ite community, along with the Christians (who form
between 15-20% of the population), were increasingly persecuted under President
Morsi with the backing of the conservative Muslim Brotherhood. The goal of the Brotherhood, founded in Egypt
in 1928, follows the agenda of Sunni Islam – the restoration of the Caliphate
and imposition of Sharia law over state and society.

Syria also has a predominantly Sunni population but Pres.
Assad belongs to the minority Alawite sect of Shia Islam.

Whilst both Sunni and Shia’s consider the Koran to be divine
they differ over the traditions that have developed to interpret and define
Islamic faith and many believe violent divisions between the two are growing,
as witnessed by what is occurring in Syria at present. Some maintain that Sunni’s sense a loss of power and are
seeking to regain their influence through violence and point out that both
al-Qaeda and the Taliban are militant Sunni movements.

Whatever the outcome, the shadow of Islam has now stretched
over the West and we need to understand it if we are going to live with it.

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About Me

I am a priest, spiritual director and accredited pastoral supervisor (Association of Pastoral Supervisors and Educators - APSE) living in south-east London. I also organise pilgrimages to the Holy Land. You can find out more from my website: www.spiritualdirectioninlondon.org.uk